Henry miller



' H.- MILLER.

CONTAINER,

' APPucmou' man OCT. 4,1920. 1,419,883. Patented June 13,1922. v

awuuulm Z I i I 1 WITNESSES INV ENTQR. I

' ATTORNEY.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HENRY MILLER, 01? SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA ASSIGNOR TO AMERICAN CAN COMPANY, OF SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

CONTAINER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 13, 1922.

Application filed October 4, 1920. Serial No. 414,534.

To all whom it concern:

Be it known that I, HENRY MILLER, a citizen of the United States, residing at the city and county of San'Francisco and State of California, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Containers, of which the following is a specification.

The present invention relates more par-- ticularly to metallic containers utilized for the merchandising of Various substances and also the hermetic sealing of coffee. These coffee containers and cans, as well known, are usually supplied by the manufacturer thereof to the packer of the article with one end or cover double-seamed thereto, the other end or what is commonly known as the bottom being left off in other words, the can is supplied with one end open. This open end is closed after the can has been filled with the commodity to be shipped, by having double seamed thereto a permanent end or cover. The end double seamed to the can body as supplied by the manufacturer is formed from material softer or lighter than the opposing end or cover permanently double seamed thereto, in order that the same maybe readily cut away by the housewife when the contents of the container is to be removed. With this type of cans, the same are supplied by the manufacturer to the packer with a flanged closure cover loosely fitted over the closed double seamed end thereof, which closure cover is utilized as a cover for the open end of the can after the double seamed soft metallic end has been out therefrom, and thus serves as the means for closing or covering the can after the same has been opened for the removal of the contents thereof. At present these closure covers it loosely over the double seamed end of the can or container as supplied by the can maker, with the result that they readily fall off and become lost during shipment of the cans to the packer, and where the said closure cover is fitted by the packer over the double seamed removable end after the can or container is filled with the product, the same become lost or displaced during shipment of the filled containers.

The object of the present invention is to so construct the closure cover as to provide against the displacement or loss thereof either during shipment of the open ended container from the manufacturer to the packer, or during shipment of the filled and double seamed container from the packer to the consumer or purchaser thereof, thereby lnsuring the delivery of the can or container with a cover closure to be applied thereto after the temporary or removable double seamed end has been removed or destroyed.

To comprehend the invention reference should be had to the accompanying sheet of drawings, wherein Figure 1 is a perspective view of a container with the closure cover partly applied to the double seamed or closed end thereof.

Figure 2 is a similar view disclosing the closure cover applied to the opposite end of seamed thereto.

Figure 3 is a vertical sectional view of the.

closure cover.

In the drawings, the numeral 1 is used to indicate the container proper and 2 a top end double seamed or otherwise permanently united thereto and which constitutes the end or cover secured to the body of the container as supplied by the manufacturer thereof to the packer. After the can or container has been filled with the product to be hermetically sealed, the open end thereof is closed by having a bottom end cover double seamed thereto. One or both ends of the can are thus provided with an outwardly extending seam bead which is made relatively strong and rigid for expanding and thereafter retaining the outer cover hereinafter described.

This end cover is supplied by the manufacturer to the packer and the same is formed of heavier metal than the top end cover double seamed thereto, the latter being formed of tagger or soft metal so as to permit of the same being readily cut away by the housewife for the removal of the contents of the container. However, after the container has been opened for the partial removal of the contents thereof, it is de sirable that the same be closed to protect the contents of the container as much as possible and for this reason there is supplied with the container a temporary closure cover 3. In the present case the extended circumferential flange 4 of said closure cover instead of being made straight throughout, as heretofore, is formed with a terminal inturn portion 5, which gives at such portion an internal diameter to the circumferential flange 4t. slightly less than the external diameter of the flange 6 formed by the double seaming of the end covers to the container. Under this construction, as the temporary closure cover 3 is applied to the relatively rigid double seam bead of the container by a slight tiltingaction, the spring of the metal causes the inwardly turned portion 5 of the flange 4 to give sufliciently to clear the circumferential end flange 6 of the can, so that as the said flangeb is passed, the inturned portion 5 of the flange 4 of the closure cover 3 springs into position beneath the lower edge of the circumferential flange 6 and thus holds the temporary closure cover 3 to the double seamed end of the container during shipment from, the manufacturer to the packer and from the packer to the dealers and consumers, so that the delivery of the filled and the hermetically sealed container with a temporary closure cover applied thereto to the consumer or purchaser is assured, and which is the object sought to be attained.

By the use of the herein described invention, the loss of the temporary closure cove'rs which takes place where the flange thereof is of slightly greater diameter internally than the externaldiameter of the container flange is avoided, and the filled hermetically sealed containers are delivered to the purchaser or consumer with a closure cover held thereto for closing the container after its double seamed removable end has been destroyed. While the invention is particularly applicable for use in connection with cans utilized for the hermetically sealing of coffee and similar commodities, still the use thereof is not so restricted and I do not wish to be understood as so limiting the invention. I have illustrated the inturn of the flange of the closure cover as extending the entire circumference of the flange, but it will be understood that such is merely a preferred embodiment of the invention, inasmuch as only such an inturn of the terminal portion of the extended flange 41- of the closure cover 3 is required as will suflice to cause the same to spring into engagement with the circumferential end flange of the container for holding the same thereto against displacement, and I therefore, do not wish to be understood as restricting the invention to an inturn of the entire circumferential terminal portion of the flange of the closure cover.

Having thus described the invention what is claimed as new and desired to be protected by Letters Patent is 1. A can body having an end united thereto by a double seam forming an outwardly extending rigid seam bead which is braced by said end, and combined therewith an outer attachable and removable slip cover having a depending flange terminating in'an inwardly turned edge adaptedto be sprung outward by the edge of said head when said outer cover is applied thereon and then to spring inward and engage removably under said head. ,7

2. A can body having, at the top and bottom, ends united to said body by double seams forming outwardly extending rigid seam beads which are braced by said ends, and combinedtherewith an outer attachable and removable slip cover having a depending flange terminating in an inwardly turned edge adapted to be sprung outward by the edge of either of said beads when said outer cover is applied thereon and then to spring inward and engage removably under the bead.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification.

HENRY MILLER. 

